The Truth About 10 Household Items That Have Been Rumored to Kill

Eleanor HildebrandtFeb 16

Who among us hasn’t fished a piece of toast out of the toaster with a fork, figuring, “Hey, I know I should unplug it, but it probably won’t kill me.” Or will it? We reveal the danger level of some common careless habits.

Electrical outlets

Istvan Banyai for Reader's Digest

The Fear: If you stick a fork or a bobby pin in one of the sockets, you’ll be electrocuted.

The Reality: If you stick something in one of the sockets, you could get a nasty shock. The left slot is connected to the neutral wire, the right is connected to the hot one, and electricity flows from hot to neutral. Sticking something into either slot will disrupt the flow and send it into you. This happens on a surprisingly frequent basis: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that 5,500 people went to the emergency room in 2015 with injuries from outlets. If you have newer outlets, they’re safer. The National Electrical Code requires new kitchen countertop outlets (and some others) to be ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets, which quickly shut the current off if there’s an imbalance—because some of the current is leaking into you. But you may still get zapped.

Will It Kill You? It might. A jolt from a standard 120-volt outlet could trigger cardiac arrest.

Toasters

Istvan Banyai for Reader's Digest

The Fear: Fishing bread out of the toaster with silverware might electrocute you.

The Reality: While not many people are electrocuted by small appliances (the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates seven deaths a year, on average), it’s still a bad idea to stick anything besides bread into a toaster, according to the NFPA. Even if you unplug it, you could damage the heating element, which could shock you or start a fire the next time you make toast.

Will It Kill You? The chances are pretty remote. You largely risk a shock or burn.